Pumpkin Apple Muffins with Snickerdoodle Topping

Do you remember the great pumpkin shortage of 2010 and 2011? No? Well I do. It was so bad in the early days that even my mom was buying cans to add to my collection. It was looking dire for a while. I had to stock up. And then came one day, I went grocery shopping and saw oodles of cans. Not just a shelf full but boxes upon boxes of pumpkin. I didn’t hear of a shortage this year, but even if there was one…I’m fully prepared.

I finally cracked open my first can of pumpkin for the season the other day. I know SO many broke down and did this weeks ago but I just couldn’t bring myself to encroach on apple’s territory. To me, September is a sacred month reserved just for apples. Now that we’re well into the swing of things in October it seems safe to enjoy both apples and pumpkin.

Okay… I cracked two cans because I wasted an entire can on a failed recipe. I guess that goes with the territory of recipe testing but I was SO bummed it didn’t work out. If I’d known … how could you know your recipe is going to fail beforehand??? But if I’d known, I’d have made a smaller batch and wasted far less.

After a great loss, I regrouped and created a new plan with slightly different ingredients and even a new topping, just for fun. Success!! Amazingly moist and flavorful pumpkin muffins with chunks of sweet apples throughout, topped off with a cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodle topping. Oh heavens! Seriously you need these muffins in your life. I’m not even remotely joking. Run into your kitchen and make these right now. You’ll thank me. But make a whole batch. And be prepared to not want to share!

Fill muffin liners 3/4 full with a heaping large cookie scoop of batter.

Combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle over the top of each muffin.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let muffins sit in tray for 2-3 minutes prior to transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to several days or may be frozen.

Ah yes, failed recipes. Food blogging can be expensive! I totally remember the pumpkin shortage…or so they said. Afterward I was convinced it was all a marketing ploy. And it worked! These look awesome. You know I die for anything Snickerdoodle.

I ended up making a half batch of this particular recipe when testing but didn’t think it through and made a full recipe of the first… such a shame! I had such high hopes for it. Will work out the kinks soon!

Failed recipes are such a bummer, but these look like such a success! A great idea to put pumpkin and apple in a snickerdoodle muffin. These flavors couldn’t be better. If there’s another pumpkin shortage, there are usually lots of pie pumpkins around because no one buys them, but it’s so easy to roast and puree your own pumpkin. It’s the only kind of pumpkin I use.

I’ve not ventured into pumpkin yet…for me it’s all about November and Thanksgiving! But apples…sure and added to pumpkin with that topping? OK, I’m sold. Wish I had one now; perfect fall day for just this.